After being disappointed in the playoffs and getting criticism for his conditioning, a star player for the Los Angeles Lakers loses weight and starts a strict diet and exercise plan.
July 28, 2025: USA Luka Doncic, the superstar guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, has changed a lot physically this offseason because he has been working harder and more intensely than ever before. After a poor 2024–2025 season in which the Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs and received a lot of criticism for his conditioning, Doncic has promised to make an unprecedented change to his fitness.
Men’s Health Magazine says that the Slovenian star hired a personal fitness staff that includes trainer Anze Macek, physiotherapist Javier Barrio, and nutritionist Lucia Almendros. His hard training over the offseason started in Croatia, where he followed a strict two-a-day schedule to change his body and improve his ability on the court.
Doncic’s mornings now start with 90 minutes of fasting workouts that include a wide range of resistance drills, weight training, and shooting practice. He has fully changed his diet to go along with all the exercise he does. The new regimen is really severe about being gluten-free, low-sugar, and high-protein. It follows an intermittent fasting pattern that only lets you have two meals and one almond milk protein shake each day. He now eats at least 250 grams of protein every day.
One of the biggest changes he made in the offseason was taking a whole month off from basketball in May. He hadn’t given himself this much time to recoup in years, so this time was all about that. Instead of going to court, he played games that required a lot of footwork, like pickleball and padel. These sports helped him improve his balance, alleviate stress on his joints, and build important lower-body strength.
His summer training has mostly been about eccentric force, which means being able to slow down, stop, and manipulate his body with precision instead of just jumping or running. This focused strategy attempts to improve his unique ability to alter speed on the court, making him even harder to catch and more useful.
The effects are amazing: Doncic looks much thinner, stronger, and, according to him, more rested than he has in years. He told Men’s Health Mag, “Just looking at it, I think my whole body looks better.” More importantly, he feels much better overall.
Doncic says that this is only the beginning of his change, even though he has made a lot of progress. He said, “This is just the beginning.” “I have to keep going.” Can’t stop. This strong dedication marks a new chapter for the 26-year-old superstar, who wants to improve his game and help the Lakers win more games in the future.